The present invention relates to a maneuvering apparatus which comprises a maneuvering lever and a sensor arrangement for detecting the movements of the maneuvering lever.
In conventional maneuvering devices, such as gear levers in motor vehicles, the gear lever is generally mechanically connected to the system which the gear lever is to control; namely, the gearbox. However, some newer systems have constructions without a mechanical connection between the gear lever and the gearbox, in which case use is made of sensor arrangements for sensing the position and movements of the gear lever in order to be able to act on the gearbox in the desired manner.
In such systems which use sensor arrangements for sensing the position of the gear lever, it is of great importance that the sensor arrangements included in the system be as few in number, and as compact and inexpensive as possible. In most cases, previously known systems with sensor arrangements make use of a separate sensor arrangement for each direction in which the gear lever can move, or a sensor arrangement for each position in which the gear lever may be located.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,987,792 discloses an example of the latter type, with one sensor arrangement for each position which the gear lever can assume. It may be considered to be a disadvantage of such a system that it is relatively expensive and also that it takes up a relatively large area. It may also be considered to be a further disadvantage of such a system that further sensor arrangements must be provided if it is desired to have information on the position of the gear lever while gear-shifting movement is taking place.
European Patent No. 620,385 A1 discloses a maneuvering apparatus with a detector arrangement in the bottom of the maneuvering apparatus. A disadvantage of this apparatus is that its extent in the direction of the maneuvering lever is increased because of the positioning of the detector arrangement, which thus defeats the desire for the arrangement to be as compact and space-saving as possible.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,871 discloses an arrangement in which a code arrangement and a detector plate are arranged at the side of the maneuvering lever and in the wall of the maneuvering console, respectively, which thus provides a compact solution compared with the arrangement in European Patent No. 620,385. However, a disadvantage of the arrangement according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,871 is that, during movements in the upshift direction of the gear lever, the code arrangement will move away at right angles from the detector arrangement, which poses increased requirements for the sensitivity on the detector arrangement. Furthermore, the result of the increased distance between the code arrangement and the detector arrangement is that the arrangement as a whole is relatively susceptible to disturbances.
The aim of the present invention is therefore to produce a maneuvering apparatus with a compact and inexpensive sensor arrangement for detecting different positions of the maneuvering lever, which maneuvering apparatus can be used, for example, in gearboxes in motor vehicles.
The maneuvering lever is also to have reduced requirements for sensitivity compared with previously known arrangements, and also to be less susceptible to disturbances than previously known arrangements.
In accordance with the present invention, these and other objects have now been realized by the invention of a maneuvering apparatus comprising a console, a maneuvering lever disposed relative to the console and movable between a plurality of predetermined positions, a planar detector mounted with respect to the console, a coding member mounted parallel to the planar detector for interacting with the planar detector based upon the relative positions of the coding member and the planar detector, the planar detector adapted to detect the relative position of the coding member, and connection means for connecting the maneuvering lever to the coding member whereby movement of the maneuvering lever between the plurality of predetermined positions causes the coding member to move substantially only in a single plane parallel to the detector. In a preferred embodiment, the coding member includes an aperture and the console includes a groove, the connecting means comprising at least one frame associated with the maneuvering lever, and at least one bias pin mounted with respect to the at least one frame, the at least one bias pin being biased into a position projecting from the at least one frame whereby the at least one bias pin thereby projects through the aperture of the coding member and is movable in the groove in the console. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the connecting means includes at least one plate spring associated with the frame and engaged with the coding member.
In accordance with one embodiment of the maneuvering apparatus of the present invention, the detector comprises a plurality of Hall elements, and the coding member comprises a plate including a plurality of magnetized regions for interacting with the plurality of Hall elements.
In accordance with another embodiment of the maneuvering apparatus of the present invention, the maneuvering lever comprises a gear lever in a motor vehicle.
The objects of the present invention are achieved by means of a maneuvering apparatus that is provided with means of converting all the movements of a maneuvering lever into movements of a code arrangement over a surface. The maneuvering apparatus according to the present invention comprises a maneuvering console, and the maneuvering lever is movable between a number of predetermined positions, and a code arrangement and a detector arrangement with which the code arrangement is adapted to interact.
The detector arrangement, which is preferably planar and arranged in a wall in the maneuvering console, comprises means for detecting the positions of the code arrangement over this area. The code arrangement is preferably also planar, and is arranged parallel to the detector arrangement, and performs all its movements essentially in one plane.